Category Archives: Ford hybrid SUV

To quickly view sites of interest, just click on the white text to the right of the feature photo & above the program’s description. You also have the option to navigate to each essay by simply scrolling down past the end of this directory.

Essays are listed in chronological order from when they were first published.

You’ll find in each program essay, a spectrum of resources to help better understand & appreciate the subject matter. To enhance your experience, a variety of carefully considered dynamic content is used, including: photographs, videos, graphics, text & hyperlinks to other sites. Every effort is made to assure the information presented is factually correct by cross referencing content & giving proper credit for creative work used in the stories & essays.

You’re invited & encouraged to comment on the programs presented here, by doing so, you enrich the site by making it a more interactive experience. All constructive comments are welcome, even if you’re not in total agreement with the article’s point of view.

The author of these sites is a multimedia photographer, CTE instructor and a former Boeing scientific photographer.

https://bigpictureone.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/new-brain-based-learning-strategies-explored-using-neuroimaging/New Brain-Based Learning Strategies Explored To Help Achieve Your Full Potential. Finding and sharing new learning strategies, that are inspired from evidence based, neuroimaging and brain-mapping studies, is a dynamic process to help assist individuals in reaching their full learning potential. Brain-based learning is a spectrum of teaching strategies, which uses neuroscience research on how the brain functions in achieving ideal development and potential. Learning concepts used: Applied Learning, Adult Learning, Competency-based Learning, Critical Thinking, Integrative Learning. Key: Words or phrases italicized are used to focus on essential concepts or terms for enhanced learning and retention.

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https://bigpictureone.wordpress.com/tag/gone-in-30-seconds-elearning-program-on-rocket-launch-disaster/ Gone In 30 seconds…It’s estimated that an average of 8 percent of all commercial rocket launches end in failure. This eLearning program includes a compendium of 20th & 21st century rocket launches, including dramatic failures. A succinct introduction to space law is included for greater appreciation of the consequences and liabilities related to the growing number of commercial rocket launches. A detailed world map illustrates the major spaceports & launch centers using GPS coordinates and web address.

https://bigpictureone.wordpress.com/tag/david-a-johanson-historian/Will The Next Jet Airliner You Fly Be Obsolete, And Ready for Early Retirement? This multimedia essay examines the evolving financing strategies and technological developments affecting older generation commercial aircraft. An eLearning program for secondary/post secondary education and community learning. Assessment tool: A quiz and answer key is located at the end of the program. Learning content covered: aerospace/airliner— aerospace engineering, avionics, economics & business, environmental footprint, financing, manufacturing, marketing, obsolescence management, technology. Learning concepts used: Applied Learning, Adult Learning, Competency-based Learning, Critical Thinking, Integrative Learning. Key: Words or phrases italicized are used to focus on essential concepts or terms for enhanced learning and retention.

[ Disclaimer: David Johanson is a former Boeing scientific photographer and currently has no stock holdings or a financial interest in: Boeing, Airbus or any other companies referenced in this program. Research in this article has been cross referenced using at least three sources, however, all perspectives and opinions represent only the viewpoints of the author.]

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https://bigpictureone.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/the-environment-our-earths-lost-frontier/The Environment, Our Earth’s Lost Frontier.A photo essay dedicated to the environment using photos from editorial and industrial photo assignments. From Alaska’s oil rich Arctic region to the tropical rain forest of Hawaii, environmental encounters and stories are visually shared. eLearning – suitable for secondary/postsecondary education, community & extended learning. Photo-illustration, graphics, text and links on Earthday and the environment included within this program.

A Glimpse Into Havana’s Legendary Watering Hole | bigpictureone Family photo taken in 1941 at Havana’s Sloppy Joe’s,inspired this photo essay of events shortly before & after the start of WWII. Family chronicled as they arrive in Panama for reunion with my grandfather, evacuated & survive being stalked by German wolf-pack U-boat submarine. — multimedia essay – eLearning

https://bigpictureone.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/1382/ Multimedia essay includes video interview with a National Park Service’s ranger on the unique geology & wildlife qualities of John Day National Monument’s Painted Hills.Video features exclusive walking tour, which occurs only once per year. — night photography, resource links

.— Inventions are rarely the result of one individual’s work, but are created from collective efforts over time, from several individual’s observations, theories and experiments. Benjamin Franklin’s role in demystifying electricity, Michael Faraday’s discovery of “induced” current, Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi’s wireless radio communication… are just a few of the technology pioneers responsible for developing modern telecommunications. I regret not having the resources for this program’s inclusion of all men and women, whose discoveries made telecommunication and information technology possible.

Definition of technology — “the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.” (J.K Galbraith) “the application of scientific and other organized knowledge to practical tasks by… ordered systems that involve people and machines.” (John Naughton)For an alternative graphic format on this essay: www.ScienceTechTablet.wordpress.com Telecommunications took its first infant steps as the industrial revolution was rapidly compressing concepts of time and space. The first half of the 19THThe century witnessed modern society’s reliance on new innovations — steam locomotive trains for mass transit and electronic communication through telegraph technology. Steamships shrunk the world by delivering capital goods, raw resources and people to remote locations within fractions of the time it took before. With the industrial revolution nearing its peak at the close of the century, a new communication, innovation was developed, which helped transform the modern age into a postmodern era.

Inventor, Alexander Graham Bell’s Washington D.C. company, which developed the telephone, eventually evolved into a prime research laboratory. Bell’s vision for a R & D lab, created a foundation for the digital technologies of today. In the following century, another key, R & D technology titan— Xerox PARCenters the stage, which helps to set in motionpersonal computing and expands the information technology revolution.

. Scottish born Alexander Graham Bell From the collection of: Library of Congress

The French Technology Connection

A French, visionary government in 1880, recognized the importance of Alexander Bell’s invention, and awarded him the Volta Prize. A sum of 50,000 francs or roughly, $ 250,000 in today’s currency came with the honor. The funds were reinvested into Bell’s laboratory for use in analysis, recording and transmission of sound. Growing proceeds from the lab were used for additional research and in education to enable knowledge on deafness.

Can You Hear Me Now

The telegraph and telephone were the first forms of electrical, point-to-point telecommunications and qualify as early versions of social-media platforms. Over time, phone service, convenience and quality have steadily improved. In my youth during the early 1960s, I spent summers visiting relatives with farms in Wisconsin who had phones connected on “party lines” (several phone subscribers on one circuit). When picking up a phone connected with a party line, your neighbor might be having a conversation in progress. If a conversation was taking place you could politely interrupt and request to use the phone for urgent business. Today, phone service has become so advanced that it is taken for granted as a form of personal utility. In 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratorieswere created from a merger with the engineering department of American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) and Western Electric Research Laboratories. Ownership of the lab was shared evenly between the two companies; in return, Bell Laboratories provided design and technical support for Western Electric’s telephone infrastructure used by the Bell System. Bell Labs completed the symbiotic relationship for the phone companies by writing and maintaining a full-spectrum of technical manuals known as Bell System Practices (BSP).

An Invisible Bridge From Point A To Point B

Bell Laboratories instantly began developing and demonstrating for the first time, telecommunication technology, which we now depend on for economic growth and to hold our social fabric together. Bell accomplished the first transmitting of a long-distance, 128-line television images from New York to Washington, D.C. in 1927. This remarkable event ushered in television broadcast, creating a new form of mass-multimedia. Now people could gather together in the comfort of their homes and witness… live news reports, hours of entertainment and product advertisements, which helped to stimulate consumer spending in a growing economy.Radio astronomy’s powerful space exploratory telescope, was developed through research conducted by Karl Jansky in 1931. During this decade, Bell lab’s George PagetThomson was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of electron diffraction, which was a key factor for solid-state.

The Forecasting Power of Numerical Data

An important component of renewable energy is the photovoltaic cell, which was developed in the lab during the 1940s by Russell Ohl. A majority of the United States’ statistician superstars, such as W. Edwards Deming, Harold F. Dodge, George Edwards, Paul Olmstead and Mary N.Torrey all came from Bell Labs Quality Assurance Department. W. Edwards Deming’s genius would later go on to help revitalize Japan’s industry and be used in Ford Motors’ successful, quality control initiatives in the 1980s.

W. Edwards Deming

The U.S. government used Bell Labs for a series of consulting projects relating to highly technical initiatives and for the Apollo program. Several Nobel Prizes have been awarded to researchers at the laboratory, adding to its fame and growing prestige. In the 1940s many of the Bell Labs were moved from New York City to nearby areas of New Jersey. …………………………………. Replica of the first transistor.

Smaller Is Better In The World Of Electronics

Inventors of the transistor, l. to r. Dr. William Shockley, Dr. John Bardeen, Dr. Walter Brattain, ca. 1956 Courtesy Bell Laboratories Perhaps Bell Laboratories most marvelous invention was the transistorinvented on December 16,1947. Transistors are at the heart of just about all electrical devices you’ll use today. These crucial artifacts transformed the electronics industry, by miniaturizing multiple electronic components used in an ever-expanding array of products and technical applications. Transistor efficiencies also greatly reduced the amount of heat in electronic devices, while improving overall reliability and efficiency compared to fragile vacuum tube components. Once more, the lab’s select team of scientist was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics, for essential components of telecommunications.

The mobile-phone was also created in 1947, with the lab’s commercial launch ofMobile Telephone Service (MTS) for use in automobiles. Some 20 years later,cell phone technologywas developed at Bell Labs and went on to become the ubiquitous form of communication it is today. In 1954 the lab began to harness the sun’s potential, by creating the world’s first modern solar cell. The laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) was dated in a Bell Lab, 1958 publication. The laser’s growing spectrum of applications includes — communications, medical and consumer electronics.

A Perpetual Revolution In The Sky Unites The World

In 1962, Bell Labs pioneered satellite communicationswith the launch of Telstar 1, the first orbiting communication satellite. Telstar enabled virtually instant telephone calls to be bounced from coast to coast and throughout the world. This development unified global communications and provided instant 24-hour news coverage.

A New Distinct Language For Harnessing Machines

It’s been greatly underreported that Unix operating system, C and C++ programing languages, essential for use in Information Technology (IT), were all created in Bell Labs. These crucial computer developments were established between 1969 and 1972, while C++ came later in the early 1980s. C programing was a breakthrough as a streamlined and flexible form of computer coding, making it one of the most widely used in today’s programing languages.Unix enabled comprehensive networking of diverse computing systems, providing for the internet’s dynamic foundation. Increasingly, Bell Laboratories inventions for the next two decades expanded micro-computing frontiers, which helped to establish personal computing.

A major corporate restructure of AT&T, the parent company of Bell Laboratories, was ordered by the U.S. Federal government in 1985, to split-up its subsidiaries as part of a divestiture agreement. This event proved to be an example of overregulation, which severed important links for funding technology R&D projects. Although AT&T previously had an economic advantage with a monopoly in the telephone industry, it allowed for necessary funding of Bell R&D labs. Indirectly, U.S. taxpayers madeone of the best investments by subsidizing the foundation for our current telecommunication and information technology infrastructure. AT&T Bell Laboratories became AT&T Labs official new name in 1996, when it became part of Lucent Technologies. Since 1996, AT&T Labs has been awarded over 2000 patens and has introduced hundreds of new products. In 2007, Lucent Bell and Alcatel Research merged into one organization under the name Bell Laboratories.Currently, the Labs’ purpose is directed away from science discovery and focussed on enhancing existing technology, which will yield higher financial returns.

Pause & Reflect: Questions for continuous learning part 1.

1.) What were the first forms of electrical, point-to-point telecommunications? 2.) What revolutionwas taking place when early forms of telecommunications were invented and name at least two technology innovations? 3.) Define the word technology? 5.) Who founded Bell Research and Development Labs? 7.) Name at least two developments which Bell Labs were awarded Nobel Prizes in? 6.) Pick one Bell Lab invention, which you believe was most important for helping develop modern telecommunications or personal computing.

Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology Will Appear As Magic.

— Arthur C. Clarke

Advance Technology Takes Root In The West

In the first half of the 20TH Century, Bell Labs’ dazzling R&D creations aligned seamlessly to establish a solid foundation in telecommunications. Most of the Labs’ bold research had been conducted in the industrialized, Eastern portion of the United States. By the 1950s, new evolving industries on the West Coast were benefiting from Bell’s technological developments. Palo Alto’s, Stanford University research facilities, south of San Francisco, attracted corporate transplants— most notably IBM, General Electric and Eastman Kodak. In 1970,XEROX Corporation of Rochester, New York established a research center known as—Xerox PARC(Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated). PARC’s impact in R&Dwould soon be felt, acting as a stimulating catalyst for personal computingand information technology development.

Creative Sanctuary For Nurturing Daring Ideas

Jack Goldman, Chief Scientist at Xerox enlisted physicist Dr. George Pake, a specialist in nuclear magnetic resonance to help establish a new Xerox research center. Selecting the Palo Alto location gave the scientist greater freedom than was possible near its Rochester headquarters. The location also provided huge resource opportunities to select talent pools of engineers and scientist from the numerous research centers located in the Bay Area. Once the West-Coast lab had a foothold, it became a sanctuary for the company’s creative misfits— passionate science engineers who were determined to create boldly. One of the few downsides for the new facility’s location was—less opportunities for lobbying and promoting critical breakthrough developments to top management located a continent away. XEROX PARC had an inspiring creative influence, along with universal appeal, which attracted international visitors. A collaborative, open atmosphere helps to define the creative legacy of PARC. The cross-pollination of ideas and published research between the R&D facility and Stanford’s computer science community, pushed digital innovation towards new thresholds.

A Premier Of Personal Computing Tools Is Unveiled

XEROX PARC,discovered a target rich environment of ideas from Douglas Engelbart,who worked at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park. Engelbart gave the Mother of all personal computing presentations in December of 1968, — astonishing the computer science audience with a remarkable debut of: the computer mouse, hypertext, email, video conferencing and much more.Bitmap graphic, graphical userinterface (GUI), which provides window features and icons— are just a few of the revolutionary concepts developed by PARC for personal computing. The list of PC innovations and developments continues with laser printers, WYSIWYG text editor, InterPress (prototype of Postscript) and Ethernet as a local-area computer network—inspiring PARC Universal Packet architecture, which resembles today’s internet.Optical disc technologies and LCD, were developed by PARC material scientist adding yet more to its diverse technology portfolio.

The Shape Of Things To Come

Xerox PARC’s R&D, efficiently blended these vital new technologies and leveraged it all into a personal computer, workstation, called “Alto.” The futuristic Alto, was light-years ahead of its 1973 debut—bundled with a dynamic utility including: a mouse, graphical user interface and the connectivity of Ethernet. Interest in this revolutionary PC wonder kept expanding as countless demonstrations were given to the legions of intrigued individuals. The increasing demand for witnessing the power of PC computing was telegraphing the need for a new consumer market. For the first time, a “desktop sized computer”could match the capabilities of a full-service print shop. Advance technology always comes with a hefty price tag, and the Alto was no exception, making it beyond reach of most consumers. Despite a high price-point — excitement, fame and glory of Alto grew — as did admiration for the bold new world of Apple Computers and of its superstar founder — Steve Jobs.

Xerox Alto -1973 Was this the apple of Steve Job’s eye? It certainly was the first personal computer, which included most of the graphic interface features we recognize today.

Torch Of The Titans Lights New Horizons

By 1979, Apple was beginning to advance its own flavor of user-friendly interfaces with the development of the Lisa and Macintoshpersonal computers.Both products featured screens with multiple fonts, using bitmap screens for blending graphics and text. From early on, there were Apple graphic engineers associated with Xerox PARC — either through former employment or in connection with Stanford University. Apple engineers aware of advances made in graphic interfaces with PARC’s ALTO, prompted Steve Jobs to have a parlay with PARC. In late 1979, Steve Jobs with his Apple engineering entourage arrived to view an AlTO demonstration at Xerox facilities. The meeting’s outcome proved Jobs’ was a master of showmanship and marketing JudeJitsu by not disclosing a previously negotiated, sizable investment from Xerox’s venture capital group.

Gravitational forces began shifting in favor of Steve Jobs and Apple Computer to capitalize on the market potential for personal computing. PARC computer engineers and scientist clearly understood the economic potential of an information business they help to build… but top Xerox executives certainly did not. Xerox had a history of dominating the lucrative copy machine market — this was the business model Xerox corporate decision makers were comfortable with and they would not risk venturing very far from.

Recently, there’s been a handful of media and tech industry critics, siting undeserved shortcomings of Bell Labs and Xerox PARC. Too often, corporate R&D labs are faulted for not fully marketing their technology developments or capitalizing on scientific inventions. Rarely mentioned in these over-simplistic reviews, is an understanding an R&D’s purpose or mission of innovation, which is directed by the parent company’s strategic goals. Failing to understand the reality of this relationship, detracts from the technological importance and diminishes the accomplishments of these remarkable engineers and scientists. Lost in the critics hindsight is an under-reporting of the titanic obstacles facing the marketing, manufacturing and distribution of innovative products.

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Thrilling technical breakthroughs are what grab headlines — rarely are the successful efforts of corporate marketingor brilliant production logistics recognized or mentioned. It’s a disconnect to judge a R&D’ lab’s success completely on the financial returns of its inventions.

The laser printer in particular, removes the myth that Xerox PARC mismanaged all of its developments. Gary Starkweather, a brilliant optical engineer for Xerox PARC, developed the laser printer. Starkweather had pitched battles with Xerox management over promoting the laser printer, but eventually he triumphed and the laser printer went on to earn billions of dollars — enough to repay the investment cost of Xerox PARC several times over. Eventually Starkweather moved on to greater opportunities when Steve Jobs offered him a job in Cupertino.

Brilliant R&D technology, requires an equally creative or open-minded group of executives for converting technology innovation into a marketable product. These decision makers must maintain iron-wills and courage to shepherd the technology product through its entire volatile development process.

IBM’s iconic 305 RAMAC, the first commercial ‘super computer,’ is a classic example of a product development challenge. Introduced in 1956, the RAMAC featured a hard disk drive (HDD) and stored a — whopping five megabytes of data. Apparently, the HDD storage capacity could’ve been expanded well beyond the 5MB, but was not attempted because — IBM’s marketing department didn’t believe they could sell a computer with more storage.

IBM 305 RAMAC — first commercial computer to use a hard disk drive in 1956.

R&D Labs take creative risk in developing new ideas, most of these developments won’t make it to market, but that’s the price of creativity. Using intuition for taking risksand knowing some failure is necessary to pave the road toward successful discoveries — builds confidence in trusting one’s creative resources. So often, the creative-process is misunderstood and undervalued in our society’s perceived need for instant control and results. In the past, I’ve personally witnessed this attitude reflected in our educational system, however the viewpoint is progressively shifting to realize the value of the creative-process.Steve Jobs and Apple Computers are a good illustration of a company, which traditionally emphasized and embraced the creative spirit.Creative employees are considered the most valued resource at Apple as they are encouraged to nurture their creative uniqueness. Shortsighted emphasis on quarterly results, which has affected most of American business culture, is refreshingly absent from Apple’s overall mindset, allowing for more sustained and successful business initiatives.

Where Have All The R&D Labs Gone — Innovation Versus Invention

The era of industrial, ‘closed inventive’ research & development labs — have faded into the background of yesterday’s business culture. Internal silos, once the proprietary norm, have been day-lighted to allow fresh ideas and collaborative efforts to circulate.

For the past 10 years, corporations have steadily reversed their long-term, pure scientific research in favor of efforts towards quicker commercial returns. In 2011, Intel Corporation, dropped its ’boutique’ research ‘lablets‘ in Seattle, Berkeley and Pittsburgh — opting for academic research to be conducted at university facilities. Intel continues to maintain its more profit oriented Intel Labs. This industry strategy, repeatedly cloned itself within the corporate research world, as it is far easier to realize a profit from innovation than pure invention.

Perhaps the golden-age of great research & development labs have run their course — but not before replacing the analogue, industrial era technology with a digital one. A century ago, using creative, innovative and bold scientific vision, Bell Labs set the standard for future R & D Labs.Xerox PARC,helped to extend Bell Labs’ marvelous inventions and innovations with a solid platform of creative research for developing mass markets in the postmodern telecommunications and personal computing of today. ~

Pause & Reflect: Questions for continuous learning – part 2. 1.) Name the parent company (based in New York) featured in the essay and its research and development lab, which moved into California’s Bay Area? 2.) What was the profitable product (used for duplicating documents), that this company had originally been built on? 3.) Give at least two reasons why this R&D lab was so inventive? 4.) What stopped the lab’s parent company from realizing more profits from its inventions? 5.) What was the name of both the young, iconic tech entrepreneur and his company (named after a red fruit), who was able to creatively package and market early Silicone Valley PC innovations? 6.) What’s the difference between invention and innovation? 7.) In your opinion, who were the top 10 inventors of all time and how did they make your top 10?

The sunhad just set as I arrived at my friend’s condominium on Lake Washington near Seattle. Rick was loading camera equipment into his SUV, Ford Escape — a gasoline-electric hybrid, which holds the honor of being one of the first American-built hybrids.

We had a long drive ahead, which required us to drive all night before reaching our destination in the high desert of Central Oregon. It was a cool, but clear, May evening, as the SUV climbed steadily up to Snoqualmie pass. After cresting the Cascade Mountains we descended into a dryer, warmer Eastern Washington. After a few hours of driving the glow from a near full moon was illuminating the desert sagebrush outside the town of Goldendale on the Columbia River.

Wind turbines above the Columbia River are lit by the moon.

Our adventure to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, was planned to coincide with a full moon for illuminating the surreal Painted Hills. Rick and I use digital cameras, featuring full-sized image sensors and fast optical lenses, which are ideal for capturing low light environments. Taking the opportunity to harness some moonlight as it rose above the Columbia Gorge, we made a stop to photograph wind turbines. These wind gathering monoliths, heavily populate this section of Washington and Oregon. The site is ideal for wind farms, due to the wind tunnel conditions created by compressed airstreams forcefully moving through the constricted Gorge.

Standing next to a colossal tower is a strange experience. These massive wind catchers are the largest machines you’ll probably encounter on land. And the eerie sounds caused from wind moving massive propeller blades takes some time getting use to.

Driving on the Washington side of the Columbia River and continuing into Oregon, you see legions of wind turbine sentinels as they constantly harvest the restless winds. It takes an hour of driving south on the highway before we see fewer and then suddenly… no steel towers flanking our drive.

Now what I become aware of is not seeing any cars traveling in either direction of a deserted looking highway. Eastern Oregon’s vast size can’t be appreciated unless you spend some time touring its sprawling, unpopulated counties.

After traveling all night and encountering some falling snow as the hybrid SUV started ascending the road to the high desert—we finally entered into the realm of the primeval Painted Hills. It’s totally dark now that the moon had set hours earlier, cloaking the desert from our view in all directions. Fatigued from hours of driving, we pull into a remote area to catch a couple of hours of sleep before our video and photography expedition can begin.

The John Day Fossil Bed National Monument is organized into three Units; the Painted Hills is the third Unit, which contains 3,132 acres of wildlife, plants and some unusual geology.

Over millions of years, layers of ash from nearby volcanic eruptions mixed with clay. Through the process of erosion, intense surreal hues and patterns of color explode in every direction.

The following morning was a like waking up in some eye-candy dreamland. The colors just popped out at you like viewing a TV monitor, with the hue saturation cranked up high. Stunned by the startling beauty, I grabbed my video camera on a tripod and began shooting panorama footage. Attempting to capture the details of the environment, an external microphone was used to record the outburst of chattering songbirds, which had woken up to announce the beginning of a new day.

My first impression was of being overwhelmed by sensory overload — it was challenging to take in all the colors, sounds and surreal shapes of the textured topography. What I was seeing, appeared to be out of this world — like viewing some futuristic post cards of a terraformed Martian landscape.

What I remembered from earlier road trips to the Southwest, was how striking the Painted Desert in Arizona was — that location now seemed pale in comparison to the Painted Hills. What makes the geology of this site so vivid is the saturated colors, caused by a series of volcanic eruptions, taking place over millions of years. The accumulation of layers of ash, dust and clay mixed together from relentless years of erosion to form the hills of strata of colors, like some massive layered cake.

What remains buried beneath the volcanic soil is a time-capsule preserving the fossilized carcasses of mammals and plants, which lived in the region during the Cenozoic Era —the Age of Mammals. This era began roughly 65 million years ago, so this National Monument is a target rich environment for paleontologist studying fossils from that era.

After I shot about an hour worth of video from the spot from the spot I started from, it was time to scout other dramatic locations. Not too far into our drive we spotted a family of graceful antelopes, casually grazing in a large field. Apparently, from talking with one of the NPS Rangers, this National Monument is teeming with indigenous wildlife including: bears, cougars and eagles.

Latter in the afternoon we stopped at the side of a gravel road to take in a stunning view of one of the larger hills at the site. The clouds above were opening and closing like a massive shutter on a spotlight — producing lighting effects which were irresistible. We set up tripods along with our video and still cameras to begin shooting right away.

Shortly after we setup shop, a ranger pulled up close to the SUV and was intently watching us. Rick and I shrugged as we looked at each other with a shrug, thinking perhaps we had unknowingly parked in a restricted area. Eventually the ranger introduced himself, he had the impression we were part of a National Park Service video crew, which was schedule to be doing work at the Monument. We were invited to join his walking tour with a group of photographers into a restricted area of the Painted Hills. As it turned out, this special photography tour only takes place one weekend out of the entire year —when the John Day chaenactus (a bright yellow wild flower) begins to bloom, then as quickly as it appears—it begins to fade away.

The photographer’s tour was visually fantastic and can only be experienced under the supervision of an NPS Ranger. The plant life is so fragile here, you’re only allowed to walk inside a dried out creek bed while touring this area. The Ranger was gracious enough to allow me to interview him about the site. Wind is common and unpredictable in this high desert area, so I came prepared with a wind guard on my microphone; but I did experience a few audio dropouts, hopefully you’ll be able to hear the main message clearly enough.

Later that evening we photographed the landscapes using a full moon for our lighting. I’ve never seen greater clarity of the stars and moon from this high desert environment, which created a great backdrop for an unearthly landscape. We photographed throughout the night until the light of predawn appeared.

At a little over 2,000 feet in elevation, the high desert can produce cold, bone-chilling weather and as mentioned—windy conditions. I recommend warm clothing and gloves to help keep your hands comfortable from wind-chill. For photography, the higher altitude is a great benefit, especially for optical clarity if your focus is on night photography of stars and landscapes.

I definitely plan to go back to the Painted Hills as soon as possible… it’s a dreamlike setting I have rarely experienced, which captivates the senses, with its splendor of stunning colors contained within an unworldly environment. ~